Series co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, producer Sue Vertue, plus one or two cast members will be in attendance at this year's Edinburgh TV Festival Masterclass to reveal the three themes of the new episodes.

How did Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) escape death? How can Moffat, Gatiss and fellow writer Steve Thompson hope to best the Fall? And what is it that makes those Baker Street sleuths so darn appealing?

Digital Spy will be live-blogging the Sherlock Masterclass to bring you all the scoop, as it happens, direct from Edinburgh!

16:35On that slightly sombre note, the panel comes to a close! Hope you enjoyed this Sherlock live-blog - series three in mid-to-late 2013, people!

16:34"You're eavesdropping if you go on forums like that," Moffat continues. "And you are going to hear them say terrible, terrible things about you."

16:33Does fan criticism on either of his shows annoy Steven Moffat? "I'm annoyed by any criticism," he quips. "I try to avoid a lot of the online stuff." Mark Gatiss adds, "It's the equivalent of listening at doors - don't listen at doors if you don't want to hear something bad about yourself."

16:32TV type Richard Bacon appears from the audience to hijack this Q&A and repeat his much-asked question... if Doctor Who will feature a multi-Doctor story for the 50th anniversary. "Not now - you've asked too many times!" snaps a mock-furious Moffat. "There'll be no Doctor at all!"

16:28Sue Vertue admits that airing Sherlock in the US five months after UK transmission is a problem - most viewers in America have already seen the show through illicit means by the time it actually airs. She's determined to close that gap.

16:28How has Sherlock been received abroad? Mark Gatiss names Russia and the Far East as territories that have always been obsessed with Conan Doyle's stories.

16:26Mark Gatiss calls it "an enormous privilege" to both write and star in the show - he reveals that it was fellow writer Steve Thompson's idea for him to play Mycroft, whom he compares to Peter Mandelson.

16:24Is Sherlock blowing through the classic stories too quickly? "No," Mark Gatiss insists. "There's an enormous amount of stuff and everything is canonical, the Billy Wilder film [The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes], the Basil Rathbone films - they can all be drawn upon as a Sherlock source."

16:19Series three will shoot in January - that much we already know - and will probably air in the autumn of 2013, possibly August, Sue Vertue confirms.

16:19And here's what we've been waiting for - the three words that describe the episodes of Sherlock series three - Rat, Wedding, Bow. That's RAT. WEDDING. BOW. What does it mean?! Get Googling!

16:18Boyd asks about "controversial" CBS Sherlock Holmes series Elementary but Moffat refuses to talk about it. "We've said all we're going to say about it," he states.

16:16Andrew Scott refuses to confirm if he'll return as Moriarty in a third series - "Moriarty is dead," he mumbles - but admits that he knows how Sherlock survived too. Cheeky!

16:15Moffat and Gatiss both claim that they know how series two's cliffhanger will be resolved, and indeed knew when they shot the episode.

16:14Moffat admits that they didn't know that Sherlock would return when the series one finale was written, adding that it was "cheeky" to end on a cliffhanger. "Had we never come back, they'd still be at that pool."

16:11Moffat talks the popularity of the Molly Hooper character - "We never intended to introduce a character - especially as a regular - who wasn't in the original," he admits, adding that they were won over by Louise Brealey's initial scenes in 'A Study in Pink'.

16:09Steven and Mark work on both Doctor Who and Sherlock - "All we need now is James Bond," quips Boyd. "Surely we must leave something alone," Moffat fires back.

16:08"We love Sherlock Holmes so much - this is fan fiction!" adds Moffat. "We wouldn't have minded if nobody had watched it and we'd have been able to keep making it for each other."

16:06Both Moffat and Gatiss giggle about the wild theories that Sherlock fans are concocting online - what could they possibly be referring to?

16:06Did Steven predict that Sherlock would become a hit on the scale of Doctor Who? "We thought it'd get 4m and an award from a Polish festival, something like that," he admits. Neither he nor Mark predicted the show would have such mainstream appeal.

16:03Lara also appeared to be naked in her original video audition taped in LA - but we're told that she was actually wearing clothes, honest.

16:03A clip of Lara Pulver's memorable performance as Irene Adler - how many women auditioned to play the part? "We saw a lot of people and they were all brilliant, but Lara was fun," says Moffat. "You have to be charmed by her."

15:58How do the writers work out who adapts which Conan Doyle tales? "A fist fight," quips Mark. Moffat admits that they originally intended to "farm out" Hound of the Baskervilles to another writer, but Gatiss eventually determined to write it himself.

15:57Was the intention always for series two to be bigger and bolder than series one? "You just do that, rather than make a decision about it," explains Steven. "You can't help it - applause is emboldening."

15:55Moffat talks the show's unique visual style and admits that he thought the 'texts on screen' effect originally sounded like an "awful" idea, but was won over when he saw it on screen.

15:54A clip from ep 2.2 - 'The Hounds of Baskerville' - Mark talks collaborating with director Paul McGuigan and how scenes in scripts often develop and change under the Scottish director.

15:49The Irish actor reveals that he looked at Twitter to see what people thought of his performance and read some "unforgettable" comments - some positive, some not. He compares the experience to being "kissed... then punched... then hugged..."

15:47Andrew reveals that he was "absolutely terrified" about messing up his part, after noting the early affection for Sherlock from the UK public.

15:47Scott also admits he's aware that some viewers were a little unsure of his take on Moriarty after only glimpsing him briefly in the first series finale. "You stole the show," Moffat insists.

15:46Andrew Scott - who's a lovely man in real life, promise - talks his casting as Moriarty. "It was important that, because I wouldn't be obvious casting, that you don't do an obvious copy-cat version of someone else's villain. It was a little audacious."

15:45A few different actors were considered for Watson - including Doctor Who star Matt Smith - but Martin Freeman had the best chemistry with Cumberbatch. "He's also short enough," Mark Gatiss quips.

15:44Benedict Cumberbatch was the only choice to play Conan Doyle's sleuth, the panel confirm - Steven and Sue were originally inspired to cast him by his performance in the movie Atonement.

15:43Steven also reveals that he was surprised by how much fan expectation there was for Moriarty prior to the character's debut - they didn't realise that the general public knew about the villain.

15:41Moffat describes the first 60-minute Sherlock pilot as "the same show, just not quite as well done".

15:41"We thought it was going to be smaller," Sue says of Sherlock - adding that the series was originally devised for a 60-minute format. Mark adds that the success of Wallander contributed to making the show in 90-minute chunks.

15:39Steven admits that originally he and Mark were just "gossiping" about the idea of updating Sherlock Holmes - it was his wife and producer Sue Vertue who encouraged them to make it a reality.